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Friday, October 4, 2013

Nice article in El Paso Times

Iconic band The Cure makes its El Paso debut after all these years
By Doug Pullen / El Paso Times

It would seem El Paso has found The Cure.
Or maybe that's the other way around.

It's been 37 years since Robert Smith -- he of the teased raven's hair, smudged red lipstick and black eye makeup -- formed the gloomy, doomy British band; 34 since their first album came out; and 30 since the dancey "The Walk" accelerated a string of hit singles ("Just Like Heaven," "Lovesong," "Boys Don't Cry") and albums ("Pornography," "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me") that made them the darlings of goth rock.

But the iconic British band has never played in El Paso before.

Fans from as far away as southern Mexico no doubt will be in love Thursday when the venerable group brings its "Group Circle Tour" to UTEP's Don Haskins Center at 8 p.m.

More than 4,000 of the 7,000 ticket for the show were sold out within a couple of days of going on sale Aug. 30, a rarity for the El Paso area.

By Sept 9, promoters had begun selling restricted-view seating. More tickets could be released by the time the band hits the stage, according to Jorge Vazquez, director of UTEP's Special Events office.

"I think The Cure is one of those what you'd now call classic acts that everybody wants to see," Vazquez said.

"There are certain names ... that trigger that, 'Oh my God, this is going to be huge' kind of thing. This is definitely one of those."

It's not only a rare local appearance for the latest incarnation of the band -- which includes former David Bowie/Tin Machine guitarist Reeves Gabrels and longtime or returning members Roger O'Donnell (keyboards), Simon Gallup (bass) and Jason Cooper (drums).

It's a rare non-festival appearance for the band, which played only 19 dates in 2012. The El Paso show is one of a handful in the United States planned this for year, a one-off sandwiched between a Tuesday stop in Monterrey, Mexico, and an Oct. 12 performance at the Austin City Limits Festival. They're also playing Saturday at the Austin festival.

Their last announced date is Nov. 3 at the Voodoo Experience festival in New Orleans.

The "Great Circle" tour started in April in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, and continued in July with sets in South Korea, Japan and Hawaii. The Cure also headlined a Montreal festival Aug. 2 and Chicago's Lollapalooza on Aug. 4.

Vazquez said the Cure show has been in the works for about a year, when he first started talking to Austin's C3 Presents, which puts on the Austin City Limits Festival and is bringing the Cure here.

He had a feeling the show would be big, and not just because the band's music has been used frequently in movies and TV shows or because Adele covered "Lovesong" on her blockbuster "21" album.

"We work among students who are 18 to 25 years old, and all of them are super-excited to go," Vazquez said, noting that the band's longevity has given it "cross-generational" appeal.

"Their music, because of the generation in which they were introduced, was able to trickle down to the younger demos," he said. "The parents and older siblings were listening to that; now, the younger generation knows exactly who the Cure are."

That hasn't been lost on the band, which doesn't have a recording contract and hasn't released an album of new material since 2008's "4:13 Dream."

"It's been across the board spanning the Cure's 30-year history," guitarist Gabrels told the Berklee College of Music's alumni website last year, his first in the band.

"We've gone very deep into their catalogue, including some B-sides they haven't played live before," he added. "When I checked out album by album, at least a couple of songs on every album went into the mainstream consciousness. The audience is just amazing to see, probably 12-year-olds to people into their 60s, all singing along."

Veteran area promoter and longtime Cure fan Bobbie Welch, who is part-owner of Tricky Falls nightclub, tried for years to book the Cure in this area.

She said the band's appeal is due in large part to Smith, its lead singer, guitarist and chief songwriter "with his mopey but yet somehow uplifting lyrics, you know, 'I'm depressed but there's hope for the future' kind of thing."

"He does kind of capture, for me, and I turned on to them when I was young, that dissonance and angst from being young and a little bit different," Welch said. "It was all the goth girl thing for me. He's the grandpappy of goth."

Smith, 54, always has worn his heart on his sleeve, taking the Cure through dark periods, poppy periods and, now, one that appears reflective and celebratory without being overly nostalgic.

"I can't see our career arc any more. I've got absolutely no idea," he told England's NME magazine last year. "We haven't signed to anyone since the last album came out and the contract was up. I'm not even signed as a writer.

"To be really honest, if we're gonna do something it has to be really good."

Doug Pullen may be contacted at 546-6397. Read Pullen My Blog at elpasotimes.com/blogs.

13 comments:

Nice catch! Love the fans far away as Southern Mexico....they will be awesome, but I imagine there will be some from Canada, as well as New Orleans :), east and west coast and places in between! Looking forward to next week...

I'm flying in from Canada. My first time doing anything like this (or being able to afford it I should say, lol) I'd look to meet some Cure fans and go to a get together, if there is one? Where do I find out about that? Craig?

I figured we'd see some Cure fans from Canada! Outstanding! Patrick at The Lowbrow Palace, a couple blocks from the Don Haskins Center, is generously offering to create a Cure/new wave party Wednesday evening, and pick up the same vibe pre-show Thursday and follow with two original live bands after the show. The Lowbrow Palace hosts some amazing cutting edge performances. (Wish I was there in November for Tycho...) I am definitely in for this and would love to meet Craig and everyone here. Given we are just a few days out, we need to speak up so Lowbrow Palace knows there's demand for them to go forward on our behalf.

I thought I read in another thread somewhere that someone was organizing something across the street from the venue? In a hotel or restaurant I believe....yeah Zen airlines I couldn't resist a non-festival show. I even tried to do Monterrey as well, but couldn't make it work :-(

aforest74, I am with you on non-festival shows. Nothing against 'em - a lot of great bands - but with 2 hour limits - it is a long way to travel knowing the limitations. So if it's a distance, it's gotta be a Cureshow. Regarding meeting up I believe it was Carlos was going to check out possibilities but that nothing had developed on that front and Craig suggested collectively for us to go forward to find something and he'd post it. Lowbrow Palace is stone's throw from Don Haskins and their putting together a couple Cure/new wave parties on a dime + the live bands afterwards for night owls...imho they are hitting the ball out of the park for us. But without having a consensus here four days until the Cure show, three until a number of us arrive in town, it would help to have a consensus going - also for me personally as I am flying out Tuesday to see a friend on the way... and while I have finally ordered a new smartphone with Nov due date, my current 4 yr old not so smartphone doesn't do internet well, I will most likely be out of communication here...

Thanks Craig! As I noted above, I may be out of communication after Monday so I hoping here on your blog we have reached a consensus - I'd hate to miss having an opportunity to meet all the personalities I see on your blog.

Hi Craig! It may be a little of both. I asked Patrick if they were able to do anything for all the Cure fans coming and he said they'd do a Cure/new wave party Wednesday, continue the vibe pre-show Thursday, and work it out for Austin's Pure X (excellent shoegaze) to play after the show along with El Paso's Lake of Fire. Patrick asked if he should make up a playbill and I responded that it's a great idea and that he's an amazing ambassador for El Paso and let's get Craig and COF involved. That's basically where we're at... All lights appear green.